Youtini Recaps THE BAD BATCH | "War-Mantle"

THIS RECAP CONTAINS THE BAD BATCH SPOILERS.

The Bad Batch continues this week with an episode that will have everyone talking. And biting their nails all week. After a detour to Ryloth and a run-in with a Deveronian, we’re back into the show’s primary plotline. 

After you watch, you’re invited to nerd out with us in our Discord (spoiler tags please) and with the crew on our weekly Bounty Hunt live stream. 

Ready for the summary? Remember, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS BELOW.

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We open on a chase scene in which a clone trooper is on the run from a pack of Massiffs lled by what appears to be not clone troopers, but stormtroopers! Before he is inevitably captured, the clone manages to trigger a distress signal. 

Cut away to the Bad Batch aboard their ship, the Havoc Marauder. They receive a shadowy hologram from Captain Rex, who pleads for their assistance in rescuing a friend on the Outer Rim world of Daro. Reluctantly, thanks in large part to Echo and Omega’s insistence, the crew departs.

Back on Kamino (remember Kamino?), Crosshair and the large-and-in-charge Imperial Rampart plot their betrayal of the Kaminoans as they phase out the clone troopers. Taun We and Lama Su, meanwhile, discuss their upcoming demise and hatch a scheme to escape the Empire, which has cancelled their contracts and will most likely take them out rather than “let the operation continue.”

Upon arrival on Daro, the Bad Batch discover that the clone they’ve been sent to find has been captured and imprisoned. Good thing Hunter is as good at his name suggests, though, because after deciding to leave Omega and Wrecker with the ship, the other three find a gasp secret Imperial base built into the interior of a mountain! 

They spot the new recruits who staff the secret base—a new trooper design in sparkly white armor, led by commandos with glowy blue visors reminiscent of Republic Commando (now available on Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch)! 

Hunter’s seen enough. Echo hasn’t. 

Echo argues that it’s not so different than what the crew did for him back on Skako Minor. Down they go atop the facility’s one and only turbolift. Seriously? How does a base this huge have only one turbolift?!

After a bit of sleuthing and hacking, they find their target and learn his name—Gregor! He fills Hunter, Tech, and Echo in on the details: the Empire has brought a few commandos like him to this base to train the new recruits who are meant to replace the clone soldiers. He didn’t like the way things were going so he high-tailed it out of there. Que the nexus. And this epic line, “Turns out, the Empire doesn’t take too kindly to desertion.”

Discovering that their way is blocked, Tech attempts to use clone clearance codes to reroute the troops so that they can escape, but clone codes don’t work here! He accidentally triggers an alarm and a flood of blasterfire. Time for a detour through a reactor shaft.

Finally, much to Omega’s relief, the escapees signal Wrecker and Omega for pickup. The problem? Stormtroopers lift off in their shuttles in pursuit right at about the same time after noticing the damaged vent that Hunter and crew used to escape the base.

After an epic fight scene involving stormtroopers Wilhelm-screaming over the edge of a cliff, the Havoc Marauder loses power after taking a few hits at the hands of their pursuers. Gonky to the rescue! Omega has the brilliant idea to actually use a power droid for its intended purpose. 

After regaining power, the ship slips in for a pickup. The twist? Hunter fails to reach the ship, falling to the surface of the forest. Although he survives the fall, he finds himself surrounded by stormtroopers, commandos, and even a couple of those pesky, snarling Massiffs who caught Gregor in the intro. Hunter signals for the squad to leave him behind. 

The Kaminoans, meanwhile, are busted. Taun We was caught sneaking confidential scientific data offworld. The scientist is deemed useful, while the politician. . . not so much. Pour one out for Lama Su.

The episode ends with a face-to-face between Crosshair and Hunter for the first time in forever. His head looks a little worse for wear. That can’t be a good sign. Looks like we’re in for a wild ride.

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You can find more recaps of each new episode of The Bad Batch right here, you can tune in to Bounty Hunt, Youtini’s Star Wars TV aftershow, every weekend for full spoiler reactions and discussions from your favorite The Living Force podcast hosts and fun special guests from the Youtini team.

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